Thank You Turkish Air

Posted by Mr É (economy, confused) 🍷 (Magyarország / Rep of Texas ) on 05/21/21 03:28 PM

We spend so much time complaining, that I think a thank you is appropriate.
I had to cancel my December trip to Montenegro and ended up with an open Turkish Air ticket.
When I rebooked it for July it could not be done on the internet and I had to call
The wait time was 40 minutes. But after that the gentleman was amazingly helpful. Despite technical glitches requiring him to call me back a few times we got it done. With patients and understanding all things are possible. And this wasnt easy. We turned 2 combined RT tickets Houston - Podgorica into one open Jaw, Houston - Kyiv and Istanbul to Houston. The other passenger on the same original ticket was changed from RT Houston - Podgorica to RT Houston - Istanbul.

The upcharge was minimal.

I am sure others will face the same or worse. I just suggest you understand they have a tough job, English isnt their first language and if you are polite and understanding they will be encouraged to help you.

Posted by MariaF

Ontario, Canada

05/21/21 04:27 PM

4573 posts

I had occasion to fly with Turkish Air 5 years ago. Schedule was changed so required a phone call. Even then there was a waiting time - perhaps because we required English speakers. It was a good interaction; polite and willing to work things out. However, there was another schedule change leaving me only 75 minutes to arrive in Canada, get luggage, clear customs and get my flight home. I knew it wasn't going to work. I asked for a later connection and he wasn't having any of it. Brushed me off like I was wasting his time. I did miss that flight, but thankfully it wasn't the middle of winter, and there were at least 5 more hourly flights home; but sometimes it can take 2 days to get that 'next available flight'.
So, it may be luck of the draw on who you get on the phone as to how well things go.
All that being said, yes, we need to remember to be understanding; particularly now. I get the sense that there is a lot more new people answering phones, and due to complexities of covid rules, at times they can't help (not airline interactions). They have a script to follow and if your question is outside the script, then they can't help much.
We are well past the year mark and covid fatigue is taking its toll. Be prepared for your calls. Take a breath and put yourself in their shoes. Have an idea what is acceptable, and offer routes or results you are prepared to accept. Starting with a positive attitude changes the tone of your voice and can very much affect the result.

Posted by doric8

05/22/21 12:52 AM

1412 posts

I just want to jump in after Maria and echo all that she said... I worked in bound customer service for six months and it is HARD work
.. especially with cranky customers, and we got dinged for things like actually letting folks talk to our supervisor or letting the call go past four minutes if other callers were waiting
..

Posted by Chani

Tel Aviv

05/22/21 11:44 AM

15582 posts

Another shout-out for Turkish Air. Last May I was scheduled to fly R/T Chicago. I waited until they cancelled my outbound flights (TLV-IST, IST-ORD) and phoned their Tel Aviv office. The recorded message said they were closed indefinitely (no surprise) and to call the Istanbul office. I was on hold for no more than 10 minutes, then a lovely woman with excellent English asked me what dates I wanted for rebooking. With no air travel in the foreseeable future, I asked for a refund and she immediately agreed. Another 3-4 minutes on hold and she said the refund was on the way, but it would take about 30 working days after the date of my outbound flight. Fine, no hurry, not gonna spend it anywhere. Within 3 days, a full credit, to the penny, was on my credit card.

I'm finally taking that trip, leaving for Chicago on Friday morning. I hope they have cherry juice onboard.